


Concussion

by emetoandotherthings



Category: Original Work
Genre: Concussions, M/M, Rugby, Sick Character, Sickfic, Vomiting, emeto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-09 17:37:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20481896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emetoandotherthings/pseuds/emetoandotherthings
Summary: Prompt: Character A has concussion, and Character B worries too muchWarning: Includes Vomiting





	Concussion

“Rugby?!” Jude winced as he lay on top of his bed covers, he had just managed to find a comfortable position that supported his aching head.

“Can you keep the frequency of your voice down a bit?” Jude whispered, trying to make as little movement as he possibly could as the world around him had only just stopped spinning. “And I know, but I thought it’d be good for my CPD…”

“For CPD?” Eden sighed exasperatedly, but careful to keep the pitch of his voice lower. “Why couldn’t you have done Spanish language, or Scottish country dancing?”

“Thought it would be interesting,” Jude mumbled, still with his eyes closed.

“I hope this is interesting enough for you!” Eden insisted as he spun round the chair from Jude’s desk and sat down.

“Perhaps too interesting,” he replied; he shifted an infinitesimal amount and the pain that exploded through his head almost made him yell out. “Oh god I need drugs…”

“You can have some more painkillers in about an hour,” Eden told him, checking the time on his phone.

“Oh god that far away…” Jude moaned.

Eden had been packing up at the labs, talking with Eppie and Ian about going for a pint when his phone had rung. He’d nearly ignored it as it came up as a private number, but at the last moment he’d answered it:

“Is that Eden McClellan?” The female voice asked, thinking he’d stupidly answered a call centre his reply was short and curt. “I’m phoning from the Queen Elizabeth University A&E department, we’ve got a Jude MacPherson who’s been brought in after an accident – he’s asking for you.” Eden’s heart seemed to screech to a halt in his chest, and he dropped the notebook he’d been packing into his bag.

“A – an accident?” Eden stammered. “W-what kind of accident?” As he said this Eppie and Ian turned to look at him.

“A sporting accident I think,” she replied, “it’s a minor traumatic brain injury.”

“A brain injury?!” Eden clapped his hand to his mouth, a sick worry washing over him. “I’ll be there as soon as I can!”

As he thrust his phone into his pocket and rushed to pack everything into his bag he could feel his hands trembling as his heart raced.

“Brain injury? What’s going on?” Eppie said, crossing to him and helping him to pack.

“It’s Jude,” Eden threw his jacket on. “I need to go to the hospital…”

“Okay, if you need anything let me know!” Eden called, but Eden was already running out of the labs.

The hospital that had phoned was down the main street when he reached the edge of campus, technically it was part of the university where the medical students began their training.

As he ran, with his backpack banging uncomfortably into the base of his spine, his mind reeling on what could have happened. He knew Jude had lectures this morning and then had some CPD workshops that he had to choose from during the afternoon. But even the words – brain injury – sounded terrifying, and images of Jude lying unconscious, or having seizures like he’d seen on TV shows, flashed through his mind. When he reached the doors to the entrance of A&E he was so out of breath, and the stich in his chest was so painful that he struggled not to pant as he approached the reception:

“I got a call…” He tried to sound calm. “About Jude MacPherson?”

“I’ll get someone to take you to him.” The receptionist said, then there was a nurse beside Eden.

“Is he okay? What happened?” Eden asked as she led him through a set of double doors and along a corridor with curtains closing off cubicles on either side. “I was told brain injury on the phone…”

“He was brought in by ambulance after a bang to the head where he lost consciousness and vomited.” She explained, Eden gasped. “He’s been for a head scan, so we’re just waiting for the results. Until then we’re taking every precaution.” She stopped at one of the cubicles. “In here.” She pulled the curtain back to reveal Jude lying on his back with his head strapped into a block to immobilise him.

“Oh my god Jude!” Eden ran to the side of the bed, grabbing his hand from where it rested on top of the bed covers and squeezing hard.

“Eden?” Jude’s eyes flickered open and fixed on Eden’s face. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Where else would I be?” Eden could have burst into tears with relief when he heard Jude’s voice sounding so normal. “God Jude, look at you!” Eden squeezed his hand again. “How are you feeling?”

“Like my head’s been used as a battering ram,” Jude answered, “and my mouth still tastes like spew…”

“They said something about a traumatic brain injury…” Eden gushed, “I was _really _worried!”

“Concussion,” Jude said. “That’s what they mean by brain injury.”

“Concussion? The nurse said you’d been for a brain scan…?”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m still strapped up, until they get the results,” he explained. “The machine only made my bloody headache worse though…”

“Did you tell the doctor about your headache?” Eden questioned, concerned.

“I’ve told them where and how my head hurts. I told them how I puked all over the shoes of the guy running the session, and how I apparently lost consciousness for just over ten seconds – I’ve told them everything, I promise.” Jude listed off.

“Good,” Eden shook his head, the worry in his chest was fizzling out as Jude seemed to be mostly alright. “What are we going to do with you?”

“I don’t know…” Jude mumbled, “I’m sorry.” The curtain behind Eden was pulled open, and a doctor and nurse came in.

“So Jude, we’ve got the results of your scan,” the doctor stood at the other side of the bed so Jude could see him. “Who’s this with you?” He smiled at Eden, which was reassuring, things couldn’t be _that_ bad if he was smiling.

“I’m Eden, his flatmate and…” Eden started to answer, but Jude had also spoken at the same time and cut over him.

“My best mate.” Eden felt himself going a bit red as the doctor had noticed the way Jude was gripping Eden’s hand.

“It’s good news Jude, the scan shows that there’s no internal bleeding, or fractures in your skull,” he continued. “So it looks like you’ve got a mild concussion, but that’s all. You’ve been _very _lucky.”

“Thank god!” Eden whispered.

“That’s great,” Jude was smiling, then he pointed to his head which was still strapped into the block. “Does that mean this can come off now?”

“It certainly does,” he nodded; the nurse squeezed past Eden to get better access to Jude’s head. “I’d like to keep you in for a little bit longer – we’ll get you sitting up and check everything is as it should be.”

“That’s totally fine with me!” Jude agreed as the nurse began to dismantle the blocks around his head.

“You need to take things easy, you’re going to have one hell of a headache but that’s normal.” The doctor warned. “A concussion is the brain’s way of warning you that you narrowly avoided doing some real damage. You’re his flatmate, yes?” He’d suddenly addressed Eden.

“Yeah,” Eden nodded.

“It’d be good if you could keep an eye on him, especially for the next twenty four hours. I’ll get you a leaflet of what to look out for.” The doctor suggested.

“Yeah, I can do that,” Eden nodded vigorously.

“Wonderful.” He seemed happier to know that someone would be watching Jude.

“No sudden movements, just take it easy.” The nurse had removed everything from around his head, then pushed up the back of the bed so Jude was sitting upright.

“I’ll be back to check on you in a little while, but in the meantime I’ll sort out your discharge forms.”

“Thank you,” Jude repeated as the doctor and nurse left the cubicle. “Eden, can you do me a favour? Can you get me some water? They’ve not let me drink anything and my mouth tastes like sick…”

“Yeah, of course,” Eden nodded as Jude stuck his tongue out to try and rid his mouth of the bitterness.

Eden left him in the cubicle and went to find some water, which turned out to be more difficult than he had anticipated. The corridors were infuriatingly similar, and it took him ages until he found a vending machine, settling for that he dug in his pocket to buy a bottle of water. When he managed to navigate his way back to the right cubicle the nurse was there, taking Jude’s temperature.

“Has something happened?” Eden asked quickly as the thermometer beeped.

“No, don’t worry – I’m just doing some final obs before Jude can be discharged,” the nurse said, noting down the numbers on Jude’s chart.

“Oh okay,” Eden relaxed slightly, then held out the water. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” Jude accepted the bottle, unscrewed the lid and took several large gulps. “Ah, that’s better!”

By the time the doctor returned, the nurse had completed all of her checks; he flicked through the chart, nodding satisfactorily.

“Right, I’ve got your discharge forms here Jude. You’ll need to sign them before you can leave,” he said.

“Alright,” Jude began to reach out for them.

“I’m also going to give you a sick note for university. You _must _rest for the next few days. A concussion is a serious injury, you need to give yourself time to heal,” he instructed. “So no strenuous work, no exercise, avoid caffeine, and give your brain a rest too – not too much TV, or bright screens.”

“Fine,” Jude agreed with a sigh, he hated missing uni.

“I’ve got a leaflet here detailing what to look out for in the next few days, things like any further losses of consciousness, or persistent nausea and vomiting, you _must_ come back in,” he urged, looking across at Eden.

“I’ll keep a close eye on him,” Eden assured.

“Yeah, he’s my minder,” Jude grinned and nodded his head towards Eden, then gasped, grimacing as pain shot through his head.

“That’s the sort of action you need to be careful about doing,” he warned, as Jude put his hand up to his head.

“Duly noted,” Jude mumbled; taking the clipboard and signing his name ready to be discharged.

“That’s everything. Don’t hesitate to come back in if you start to experience any more symptoms.” The doctor was turning to leave when he added: “And no more rugby.” Eden turned to look at Jude, bemused.

“That’s a given.” Jude was climbing gingerly out of bed, reaching awkwardly to put his shoes on.

“Rugby?” Eden said inquisitively.

“Can we please just get home?” The normally cheery tone in Jude’s voice had vanished, and he sounded exhausted. “This headache is actually killing me.”

“Yeah, okay,” Eden picked up Jude’s bag, along with a plastic bag full of a bundle of clothes.

They took a taxi home. Jude didn’t want to have to wait for Eppie to come and pick them up, and Eden could understand that. It dropped them right outside their flat, Eden unlocked the door to the flat and shepherded Jude inside.

“I think I’m just going to go to bed,” Jude said, as Eden closed the door gently.

“What’s to happen to this?” Eden asked, holding up the plastic bag, which had been knotted to keep it shut.

“Ah,” Jude pulled a face. “You should probably leave that for me to deal with… It’s my sports kit and shoes that I spewed all over.”

“I’ll chuck them in the wash for you, go and lie down,” Eden ordered. “I’ll get you some water too.”

So that was how Eden came to be sitting in a chair watching Jude’s side rising and falling, slowly becoming deeper and more even as he fell asleep. There was an element of relief now he knew Jude wasn’t seriously injured, but he was sufficiently worried about him to stay in the room. He briefly considered waking Jude up when the time he was allowed more mediation came, but on deeper thought he realized it would be better to let Jude sleep, resting his injured brain.

Eden set an alarm on his phone to vibrate every three quarters of an hour, and when it buzzed he would carefully approach Jude, touching his fingers to Jude’s cheek to check his temperature and attempted to take his pulse.

By one in the morning it seemed that Jude had fallen into a very deep sleep and wasn’t going to wake any time soon. Creeping as quietly as he could Eden left the room to change his clothes, then made himself a cup of tea. Jude stirred when he returned, stretching out his legs and making a soft groaning sound, but almost instantly relaxed again. Eden placed his tea on Jude’s desk and approached the side of the bed.

“What am I going to do with you Jude?” He whispered, very gently moving the hair out of Jude’s eyes.

The chair Eden was sitting in wasn’t quite as comfortable now as it had been when he first sat in it, and even though the base of his back and bum felt numb, he was beginning to doze off himself. He wasn’t sure how much actual sleep he got, waking up every time his phone buzzed to check on Jude.

Sunlight was beginning to shine through the curtains when Jude stirred next; Eden checked his phone and discovered that it was just after 7am. Jude stretched, furling out like a cat and making a noise similar, then slowly he sat up on the bed and turned on his bedside lamp. One hand went up to his head and he moaned gently.

“You can have more painkillers now,” Eden offered in a gentle voice, but Jude jumped – he clearly hadn’t registered that Eden was sitting there.

“Oh god Eden…” he breathed out. “That would be good.” He clutched his head with both hands as Eden pushed out some paracetamol tablets he’d collected from his room earlier.

“Here you go,” Eden moved to the side of Jude’s bed, passing him the tablets and the water bottle from his bedside table. Jude gulped them down before looking up at Eden, his eyes squinting through the pain he was obviously feeling.

“Jeez Eden, have you been awake all night?” He asked now he could see him in the light.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on you,” Eden replied evasively. “How are you feeling?”

“My head is pounding,” he responded.

“You’re not feeling sick are you?” Eden asked.

“No,” Jude said. “Nothing aside from the crushing headache… You really didn’t have to stay up all night.”

“I was worried about you,” Eden admitted. “Though it was better to be safe than sorry.”

“By the looks of it, you’re going to be the only one who’s sorry – you look like a corpse Ede!” Jude told him honestly.

“Thanks…” Eden mumbled; he was stiff from sitting in the chair and his eyes felt heavy with exhaustion, but Jude took precedence over that.

“Look, I’m gonna go back to sleep, but you should too,” Jude insisted.

“I don’t want to leave you alone,” Eden said, worry tightening in his chest again. Jude stared up at him for a few seconds, then shuffled back in his bed, pulling the bed covers with him.

“Get in,” he said firmly.

“What?”

“Get in the bloody bed Eden,” Jude repeated. “That way I rest, you rest and if I need you at all I can nudge you. It’s a win-win!”

“I – okay…” Eden cautiously clambered into Jude’s bed; Jude was lying on his side facing Eden, his eyes already closed.

“Turn the light off, will you?” Jude mumbled, sounding sleepy. Eden flicked the switch off, but even with the dim light coming through the curtains he could still make out the features of Jude’s face. Tiredness was hitting him hard now he was lying down in a comfortable, warm bed. “Eden?”

“Yeah?” Eden forced his eyes open with difficulty.

“Thank you for watching me, making sure I’m alright… I’m not sure my mum would even have done such a good job,” he muttered.

“I care about you,” Eden replied, the words feeling heavier and more loaded than he meant.

“I know,” Jude’s words were almost slurred as he drifted off to sleep again. “I do too…”


End file.
